Xenia

Ever met a customer, who looks at you like you are lesser than a human being. Talks to you like you are stupid. Demands things from you like you are meant to do them. It feels like you standing with your lunch tray in hand at the cool kids table and they are mocking you.... Feels like high school all over again... When we were in high school we tried everything in our power to stay away from the cool kids (thats if you weren't one). You knew that if you tried you would get mocked at, ridiculed... so we would save ourselves the embarrassment and mind our own business. But now we have grown up and you have made something of yourself or on your way to it. You think you have grown up, matured and think we have left the queen bees and the jocks behind, because you have bigger things in life to worry about like mortgages and marriage and business etc. But has it really changed?? I think not! Its just a little different now, the only difference being you aren't in school or c

Every entrepreneur waits for their first big break. You are excited and the same time so panicked. Its a bitter sweet feeling. You know you can pull it off but you just keep wondering how? Then you take the project and break it down in to all the variables you know. You plan and you hedge and you plan some more. And then you look back and say hmmmmm this sounds about right.... till you speak to someone with way more experience in the field and he starts pointing out all the things you have missed out and you go back to the drawing board. Then comes the day of execution and you run around like a crazy person functioning purely on adrenaline. You see flaws which you know you can't fix. A dozen things go wrong at the same time and you feel you have been stretched too thin. But you dust yourself off and keep going praying that everything falls into place. At that moment you think this couldn't get any worse but you put on a brave face and power through. You get involved and not

I am an event planner. I party for a living. I get to be creative and use my imagination. I get to make people happy and create wonderful memories for them that will last a life time. I am the MAGICIAN behind the scenes. I love my job. My clients; well most of them; are sweet and leave you alone. But sometimes you get this one annoying client, that has a love chat with you once in the morning and once before you go to bed like a overly attached boyfriend who needs to know where and what you are doing at every waking moment. So you humour them once, twice, thrice! and then it starts to get to you a little bit. But you realise that it comes with the territory so take a seat back and go with the flow. But then you are sitting at the fag end of a deadline and nothing is decided and everytime you meet everything changes. So how can you plan? I ask myself I am an event planner but pulling an elephant out of hat is not gonna happen without the required planning! Then you have the other

"You are only as good as your Employees" This statement could hold greater value that it does for me today. The caliber of your staff is a direct reflect of you, your weaknesses, your strengths and your failures. If they succeed you will give them the credit cause you know they put their hearts and souls into it. And if they fail you will be standing right there in front of them to shelter them from the storm. But when you are starting out I you have your first employee they are more like your partners than an employee. They get vested in and every small victory and failure is celebrated and fretted upon together. But at the end of the day the company is your baby and sometimes (very rarely) they stick around till the end. But more often than not they move on to better prospects, opportunities etc. Never place all your eggs in one basket. Divide the responsibilities and have a cohesive area for all your important data but most importantly remember that their success is a

Once upon a time.... There was a boy and a girl... yada yada yada Happily ever After!!! OR Once upon a time..... There was man or woman who came from nothing.... Yada Yada.... Struggled and Happily Ever After.... People often say what happens in the movies are stories and you never get that "Fairytale" ending. "It only happens in the movies". I have lost count on how many times I have heard this. Still every time I hear an inspirational story or see a Romantic Comedy I smile and my heart swirls.  The thing is we have been taught to settle for less for a very young age. I remember my mother telling me; although she meant well; "You can't have everything in life" Which is true because it is important to be content and be grateful for what you have. But there is vast difference between being content and settling for less. So I asked myself "WHY THE HELL NOT?" No situation is ideal I agree. But for you at the that moment; at the

When you start a new company and you talk to your friends etc. and say man this is frustrating, things don't seem to be moving. You meet people, pitch for your company do the FB posts and tweets etc. But nothing seems to be yielding any results. Then those words of WISDOM come pouring out of people who aren't in the same situation as you : "Keep at it... It will happen..." While what they are saying isn't wrong or offensive its frustrating. Not because you have heard it over and over again its because you know deep down its true! And there are days you have your good moments when you will power through.... Then there are days when you just wanna head home and say Il do it later.... and that later never happens..... So how do you power through and keep yourself going... Here are a few things that have helped me... Which might help you... 1. Count your Blessings: Look back and see where you started and assess the situation you were in when you started. Your

My father always says that the youth today got the short end of the stick. We are born in a time when competition is Immense. Its either you Go Big or Go Home. But like any candle in the wind the flame dwindles and eventually dies out. That is the majority of the crowd. They start something and somewhere down the line the faith in what they are doing dwindles and they go back to the safety of a job. One of my Mentors and inspirations is Seth Godin and what he says rings so close to home...  "If is scares you, it might be a good thing to try..." "Be Genuine, Be Remarkable, Be worth connecting with..." He also says that one of the riskiest thing we can do today is stay within the status quo.... It is being Remarkable, being something worth noticing.... That sets you apart and deicides your success When I started my company I had a vision is to do unique designs and execute projects that India has only seen on paper or online on Pinterest etc. Ever

Since the beginning of time..... right through the stone age, crusades, invasions etc we have been territorial about our land!!!! Families have been betrayed, legacies destroyed, lives lost, murder, conspiracy, chaos and the only one that suffers the wrath of our leaders is the common man. No leader in history hasn't been territorial. The plotting and conceit which leads to anarchy lays the breading ground for hatred. Over a piece of land!!!! Today we stand at the very same dilemma.... who shall have the Ghaza strip.... Very important this question, is it not? Land.... Earth..... is a finite resource. Dirt. Rubble. Stone. It has no value by itself it only has the value we attach to it. There is only so much to go around. While we have divided the land ask mother earth who her loyalties lay with..... We today as educated, well informed, CIVILISED individuals who have evolved over the millennia still resort to barbaric ways. Have we not learnt that living in peace is only favour

"You have your own company!!!! Wow you are so lucky!!!!" This statement is over used and has no relevance in reality and hence is completely bogus!!!!! Thats right I said it BOGUS!!!!!! There is a vast difference between starting something of your own and taking over a company..... Both are risky and requires hard work but one is a well oiled machine and the other just a pile of spare parts and it depends on you what you gonna build out of it. Starting something means no direction, no set path, customers and literally NO MONEY!!!!! Yes you get to make your own decisions!!!! But HIP HIP HURRAY!!! Guess what along with that comes great responsibility because it is very possible you will make the wrong decision. You can see your friends move abroad and you sigh with envy thinking "I wanna pack up and leave too" but and inner voice says "What if you try this instead of that?" The only time you truly know you are entrepreneur is when the puzzle excite

We are all social animals.... Every single on of us... We need and thrive of each other.... There is a reason why solitary confinement is a punishment. We might not get along with everyone we meet.... Your family, friends, acquaintances etc. We all have that one family member, or friend in your friend circle or business partner who gives you a lot of grief.... But the fact of the matter is we need them in our lives as well. Being civil is an art... not everyone can master it.... Some people are fantastic at it.... those are the people you should be careful with because you have no idea what they are thinking. Then you have the suck ups.... People who go out of their way to get noticed.... They are a little more easier to detect cause you know what they want at the end..... But then you have your friends... They are an integral part of our lives.... we value their opinions, values etc. Often times we work in tandem with them and if they turn out to be sincere it creates an ever las

I remember my first job... scared out of mind I turned up 45 minutes before I was suppose to. The HR department said the co ordinator hadn't come in as yet which left me with 45 minutes to wonder about what my first day would be like, colleagues, lunch etc. It was everything I hadn't imagined because as a fresher in the service industry no one had the patience to guide me through office politics, favouritism etc. Like everyone else you are left in the wild to fend for yourself. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and always knew I would start out on my own someday. So I started cataloging all my bosses and made notes about them in a little book  titled "Dos and Donts of a Great Leader." Over the years I listed traits, quirks etc of all my bosses. Some of them were really hilarious and some of them aspirational. I learnt from them and tried my best to be like a few of them. I obviously look up to my father as he has the best management technique I have seen till

The age old norm of business is "I'll do you a favour and then you do me one when I need it" But today its a dog eat dog world.... Bare minimum favours, trust and everyone wants the bigger piece of the cake. Now people forget that we live in a human world where we wouldn't be able to have our businesses, jobs, economies etc without having a HUMAN on the other side. The argument is that what if he tries to screw me over....!!!! Again people tend to forget that in the good old days people walked over, screwed or betrayed people even then. The reason why you hear of this more often now is because there has been an increased in the number of people, businesses and technology enables gossip amongst other things. You can go back as far as the age of the barter system; even before money came into the picture; I am sure someone didn't get paid their due. It is human nature to do so. But it is also human nature to lean on one another. We are an inter dependent species

How many times do people come to you during the day... some out of genuine concern, some just because they are nosey and can't keep to themselves cause their lives are not interesting enough and some just because.... and ask you How are you doing? How is work? and you give them the usual answer Its going good and I am fine!!! We personally on an individual level believe in not sharing our views, problems disappointments and failures because we need to be brave and strong and power through the rough patch cause other wise people around you will take you for weak..... Life is tough... and whoever said its easy was either lying through their teeth or got dealt a really awesome hand... but lets face it no one is that lucky!!!! I know this sounds pessimistic and we shouldn't talk like this etc. but fact of the matter is that "Life is an Uphill Climb..... But the view is Great!!!" Having said that!!!!... Its important to know that its OK to feel down and out and stampe

"Being your own boss" we say it with such fervour and conviction. But do we really know what it means.... We think Lots and Lots and Lots of Money, bossing people around, Doing what you want when you want, unlimited vacation days and easy life. We perceive the person after the struggle and at the end of the tunnel. But is it really all that... Reality Check.... Its Not..... Its long hours, no money in the beginning, hardships, not feeling good about the free time you have and a lot of perseverance. Its not easy. The climb up the ladder especially when you are at the bottom with no one to guide you can be pretty daunting. The worst part is... YOU HAVE NO BOSS.... So time is as valuable as you make it out to be. You could work today or not..... You could postpone it or not..... You are your own master.... BUT WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN.... It means there are no yearly appraisals, or yearly increments. There is no one to pat you on the back and say good job well done...

Ever since I can remember, through cartoons, stories or fables we are always told that love is important. That love is why we are here. Love for our parents, children, siblings and the most important our better half or significant other if you will. Most of us spend our entire lives seeking this very phenomenon. We see this in movies, sit coms and even in animation films for children. Beauty and beast, Cinderella, Snow White..... they all end in the notion of Happily Ever After.... But is there such a thing..... I have seen couples together for all the wrong reasons. Habit is the most prominent reason i.e. Couple has been together for four years will end up spending their lives together. But how often do you know that those couples have been happy once the fairy dust of a new relationship clears. I can see couples heading towards a wall at break neck speed. You know they are making a mistake but you have to stand on the side lines and wait for them to meet their fate. No one can m

Starting your own company.... is like being pregnant, giving birth and raising a child. In the initial stages you lay the ground work, follow the rules, learn new things about yourself and the organism you are trying to nurture inside you; because you have a vision of what it is going to be a few years from now. So you spend your time conceptualising in great detail everything down to the last "T". You think you have everything figured out......  So in all your gusto you go ahead pick out a name, find an office space and put your name on a board outside. You buy your domain name and out up your website. You print your business cards. You create all your formats etc. You do a couple of business transactions and you think you are on your way. That is furtherest from the truth. We are naive to think that this is all it takes and that we have set the ball rolling. The biggest struggle is yet to come. This is the calm before the storm.  After you have done your basic groun

We all look up to our parents with awe trying to grasp how they accomplished so much…. Similarly we all have ideals… someone famous irrespective of the field they are in…. They give us something to aspire to. They do what they do to the best they know how and inspire us in the bargain…. I aspire to be someone big someday. A CEO and founder of a big growing company, when I walk into the room or when people talk about me they know I am a woman of substance. Ever since I was 16 that dream has kept me going. But reality has dawned on me. And it isn't a cruel one or an unfair one….. it is what it is…. Our parents were born in a fortunate time…. The economy was flourishing, everything was new and unique, our Indian currency had value against other currencies. Times were economically; I wouldn't say easy; I would say conducive to growth. Any business you started then; if it wasn't too ahead of its time; did remarkably well. Hard work was rewarded in the form of results. Busin